John MacLean
(1860-1940) was born in Poolewe, Wester Ross, Scotland, emigrating as a young
man to the Falklands and Southern Patagonia (1883). With time, he was able to
buy property in Punta Arenas (1887) and rent public lands at Punta del Monte
(north-east Magallanes Territory) to raise sheep (1891). Three years later,
John married Mary Ann, daughter of neighbour and fellow Highlander John
Cameron. This union was to produce 13 children over the next 26 years.

The final decades of the 19th century brought many settlers
to the grasslands of Patagonia (early map). For some, like John, it was a profitable venture: Scots were often
employed as managers, foremen and shepherds in the newly established farms,
set in mostly virgin lands. The total lack of infrastructure was a challenge
to the pioneers: banking services, farm and household supply and export facilities
were scarce, and dominated by a few powerful businessmen. Goverment administration
and police services were also absent.

Judging by these letters, John performed his official duties
diligently. Writing mostly in Spanish (probably self-taught, as seen in his
rather phonetic style with many spelling errors), he reported the minutiae of
daily life on the frontier of civilization. This is the nitty-gritty of existence:
no romance, only endurance. A century after the events, these documents shed
a fresh light on the region's early development.

The source materials — John MacLean's bound book of "carbon copies",
and
handwritten sheets addressed to him — were generously loaned
by the Mac-Lean family for this Web presentation.